'Bait bike' strategy pays off, New Orleans police say

A sting with a "bait bike" led New Orleans police to arrest a man near Armstrong Park on Thursday that they described as a career criminal.

Orleans Parish Sheriff's OfficeSheon Copprue

Department officials hailed the bust as evidence that the tactic, which has come under criticism from some neighborhood leaders as a waste of resources, is worthwhile.

Officers from the 1st District planted an unlocked bike on the 1100 block of St. Phillip Street in hopes of tempting a thief into taking it. Police said Sheon Copprue, 40, quickly noticed the bike, jumped on it and rode toward Treme Street, where he was arrested.

Copprue's prior rap sheet includes 11 felony arrests and 5 misdemeanor arrests on charges ranging from forgery to burglary to illegal credit-card use, according to the NOPD.

Copprue was convicted and served jail time for several counts of forgery and for simple burglary, records show.

Copprue was in the Orleans Parish jail Friday evening. His bond was set at $2,500, according to court records.

The sting that led to Copprue's arrest is one of a number of similar proactive tactics the NOPD has been using lately. The department has also dressed up cops as prostitutes to lure would-be johns and sent officers out to lock cars they find unlocked.

Some neighborhood leaders, among them Sylvester Despanza of the St. Roch Bend Association and Linda Jackson of the 9th Ward Homeowners Association, have questioned whether it's worth draining police resources on such tactics in a city with an intractable violent crime problem.

But in a prepared statement Thursday, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said Copprue's arrest proves the value of the tactic.

"Studies show criminals are not 'specialists' ... 'they're generalists,'" he said. "The same guy who steals a bike one day will use that bike the next day during an armed robbery. That's why we can't overlook the importance of nabbing suspects who have committed minor crimes."